


six blocks

by blooming_sun



Series: stories as presents [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Apologies, Blankets, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Kim Hongjoong is Bad at Feelings, M/M, mention of anxiety, rainstorm, seonghwa likes documentaries, talking about stuff is important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:22:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28456011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blooming_sun/pseuds/blooming_sun
Summary: The only reason Seonghwa would interrupt his friday documentary night is in case of an emergency.Desperate knocking in the middle of a rainstorm sounds like one.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: stories as presents [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083125
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	six blocks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mothman_plays_the_drums](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mothman_plays_the_drums/gifts).



> a small gift for my favorite gremlin <3

_ “...she and her cubs won’t be able to come back here after challenging him, but perhaps there is still hope for them…” _

Friday nights were reserved for the wildlife documentaries of tiger families while eating too many chips. It was something he did alone. Seonghwa never changed that and he let his friends know. 

Unless there was a matter of extreme urgency. 

And going by the furiously loud knocking – no,  _ hammering _ – on his door, this was one. 

Seonghwa sighed, considering for just a second the idea of ignoring the irritating noise disturbing the story of Bacchi and her cubs. However, his exception rule won against the laziness and he got up to see who had the nerve to interrupt him. It was with a sigh that he turned the TV off and walked to the hallway. 

In his door frame stood a crying and rain soaked body, hands still lifted up from the incessant knocking. He was looking at a distressed Hongjoong, shivering. Before he could even understand the sight in front of him, arms schlung around him, the loud sobbing making all the words incomprehensible.

“I… -sorry!... I know ‘m not… I wanted to tell you I’m sorry, but l-” A hiccup. “Sorry! I’m just-....” More crying and sobbing. 

“I can’t understand anything you're saying, Hongjoong. Let’s get inside, alright?” Seonghwa wrapped his own arms around Hongjoong and dragged him inside, closing the door with his foot. 

Without waiting for an answer he guided himself and Hongjoong to the living room. After helping the other settle on the couch, Seonghwa observed how a new wave of sobs and cries washed over Hongjoong as he curled himself up. 

“From the beginning, then,” Seonghwa sat beside the other, leaving a generous space in between.

As soon as he had said it, the soaked bundle started spurting out a train of words. “I know friday is your wildlife documentary night and you hate it when someone disturbs you, I know that. I just started thinking about what you said weeks ago and I didn't understand at first, you were always so silent and discreet about it, I swear I didn't mean to yell at you! I shouldn't have done that when you just told me that you-” Hongjoong took a second to breathe, “I’m sorry, Hwa, I’m really sorry…” he sighed, tears appearing in his eyes yet again.

Seonghwa could only stare at him for a second, taking in everything he heard. He wasn’t sure if he should focus on the apology or Hongjoong crying, now probably shaking because of the cold and eyes searching for an answer in Seonghwa’s. It broke his heart to see the other in such a state, he felt the pieces falling down his chest with every sob audible. 

His body acted before his mind could, opening his arms, “ _ Come here _ ,” he whispered softly. 

Hongjoong didn't waste time accepting, throwing himself into the hug. His hands gripped the already dampening fabric of Seonghwa’s sweater with desperation, as if he needed to ground himself with something. Seonghwa could hear his accelerated breathing mixed with sobs, holding him close, trying to calm him down. In that moment it didn’t matter what had happened, Seonghwa would be there for him.

“Don't forget to breathe, yeah? It's going to be okay.” Seonghwa was observing Hongjoong's body following his words, caressing his back. 

There was a long moment of silence, Hongjoong only sniffling a few times, “How can you say that for sure?” His voice came out hoarse and his head shifted, but he didn't look up. 

“Because it's you and me. We’ll always be okay, Joong,” Seonghwa voiced softly, a hand now in Hongjoong’s still drippy hair. 

“I’m sorry, Hwa,” Hongjoong lifted his head to search for Seonghwa’s eyes, “I truly am.”

“I know,” Seonghwa replied in a sigh, “But you're going to get sick if you stay in these clothes, so I’ll get you some clean ones and a towel and you can take a hot shower. And we’ll talk about this, okay? We both need it.”

“Okay,” Hongjoong’s voice was small, probably realizing now he had on impulse gone out in the rain. 

It was only after being wrapped in a blanket and sitting once again on the couch, that Hongjoong spoke a word again. 

“You’re ready to talk?” Seonghwa had taken his place on the couch again, with the same distance as when Hongjoong first sat on it. Upon Hongjoong’s nod, he continued. “First up, I’m kind of not understanding what happened that you come banging at my door, after weeks, Hongjoong. Weeks. I thought you had just forgotten about what I said, even if your answer was pretty loud.”

“I don’t even really know. I guess I was overwhelmed that you told me out of the blue you like me.” Seonghwa shifted on the couch, slightly uncomfortable. “We’ve always been best friends, I didn’t think you’d ever see something more in what we already have.”

“It’s not hard to see you in another light when you’re this amazing person, Hongjoong.”

Hongjoong bit his cheeks, “And I yelled at you because of that.”

“Can’t deny it hurt me. I told you I’m in love with you and you could’ve just said you don’t feel the same, you know? ‘Why do you want to change everything all the time’ was not how I wanted it to go.” Seonghwa looked somewhere else, anywhere that wasn’t the look in Hongjoong’s eyes, “You didn’t even text me…”

“I know it’s not an excuse, but I was really surprised. You never even gave me a sign of it,” Hongjoong could clearly see the eye roll, “Did you?”

Seonghwa sighed, tired already, “I literally asked you on a date on Valentine’s Day two years ago. You thought it was a joke because we were single and had me pay for all your fried chicken.”

“Oh.” Hongjoong hid himself deeper in the blanket.

“Yeah,  _ oh. _ ”

Hongjoong looked around the well known living room for a moment before continuing to speak, as a way to steady himself, “How’s it going to be from now on? I understand if you’re mad.” Seonghwa didn’t answer him for a long minute and Hongjoong already started to stand up, “I can leave if you’d like, I already interrupted your friday program and I’m sure you don’t-”

“No, you can stay,” Seonghwa made a dismissive hand gesture for Hongjoong to sit back down. “You’ll just get sick out there. Why did you even run here in that weather? A text would’ve been fine.”

“I felt more sorry than a simple text could do, Hwa. Not only for what I said and the way I said it, but the fact that it took me weeks to do something about it. It’s not fair to you.”

Seonghwa let a breathy chuckle out, “Don’t say...” He finally turned to Hongjoong again, observing the other disappearing in the blanket, hair peeking out over his big eyes. “But… uhm… You know my side of it, so where are you standing? I don’t know where to go from the apology, which I appreciate, but how should I interpret  _ this _ ?” He pointed around, as a metaphor for Hongjoong appearing at his door and hurriedly apologizing.

“I didn’t think I’d get that far. I honestly thought you would slam the door in my face, I wouldn’t blame you at all,” he tried a pressed smile, “But I thought about what you said.”

Seonghwa interrupted, “What part?” 

“About how the line between us became blurry to you at some point,” Hongjoong said quietly, “The hugs and cuddles and what we talk about… To be fair it’s something I’ve heard before from some of our friends, but I guess when you said it to me I panicked,” Hongjoong was observing Seonghwa’s expression carefully, “Maybe at some point I was so comfortable in our friendship that I didn’t notice it becoming something else.”

In Seonghwa’s eyes confusion was clear, mixed with a certain spark of hope, “So what you’re saying is...?”

“I’m not good with this kind of thing,” Hongjoong twisted the blanket around in his hands, “So what I’m trying to say is that I’d like to maybe walk a bit on that path.” His eyes were directly hooked in Seonghwa’s, anxious for an answer.

Seonghwa’s mind was rattling with thoughts. He would have given everything to hear Hongjoong say these words years ago, but now he couldn’t swallow them. Maybe he’d gotten so used to the silent ‘no’ that he had dismissed the possibility. He remembered that exact day almost three weeks ago, when Hongjoong snapped at his confession, how much more it had hurt instead of a rejection, yet deep in his heart he knew he would give in to the one person he had beside him since they were kids.

“Okay. Let’s see where it goes.”

Hongjoong eyed him, “Are you sure?”

“I’m not mad at you, Joong,” Hongjoong quickly smiled when he heard his nickname again, “Still a bit hurt perhaps, but I’m willing to try.”

They both exchanged looks, asking themselves how to proceed. Seonghwa’s older feelings and Hongjoong’s new ones clashing. They’d figure it out along the way, but for now it was Hongjoong who decided he had to take a step.

“Is the wildlife documentary still running?”

Seonghwa looked at him surprised, “Yeah…?”

“Can we watch it?” Hongjoong wiggled around in his blanket until he could lean against Seonghwa’s shoulder, glancing up to see if there was any objection to his action. There wasn’t. 

“Sure,” Seonghwa reached for the remote and instantly the familiar narrator voice was breaking the silence in the room. “I don't have any more chips, though.” 

“That's fine…” After another long minute Hongjoong dared to ask, looking up from Seonghwa’s shoulder. “Are we really okay?” 

Seonghwa leaned his head against Hongjoong’s, “We are. We will be, Joong. I told you.” 

“If you say so…” he paused, “But I’m in love with you too, thought you should know.”

Seonhwa smiled to himself, containing his inner turmoil of happiness, “It was a dramatic entrance, I have to say.”

“Oh, shut up. I ran almost six blocks under the rain.” Hongjoong shoved him slightly. 

With a light kiss to Hongjoong’s, now dry and coconut scented hair, Seonghwa added, “I’ll order us some dinner later, okay?” 

Seonghwa only heard the approving hum before a hand searched for his and Hongjoong fell asleep. 

He didn't hear the ‘I love you more’ whispered against his temple with a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed :) come yell at me on my twitter @SPACEJJONG


End file.
